High School, What a Drag
by Yemi Hikari
Summary: According to Shikamaru life is a ere is no reason to expend more energy then needed, and that's why he ended up skipping a grade. Putting up an argument about why he shouldn't take the high school entrance exams took up to much energy. He doesn't expect the first day to have unexpected "drags". Temari's life is a drag with a brother who qualifies as a 'hikikomori'.
1. Life's a Drag

_Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto. This was written for Wattpad's Fanfic Friday contest number fourteen. This contest was to write a high school AU with 10,000 words or less with a favorite ship. I picked Shikimaru and Temari from Naruto for this one._

 **High School, What a Drag  
 _Life's a Drag_**

Knuckles rasped against the door, and the sound echoed out of the room. A deep voice from behind spoke up in a rather candid manner causing Temari's mouth to twist down in irritation. "He's not coming out."

The eldest of the three siblings turned her head towards Kankuro as her older brother leaned back in his chair at the table. The second oldest brother's feet were on the table, and he was balancing precariously on two chair legs. Her hand still remained hovered over the door to Gaara's room. "What do you mean he's not coming out?"

"Gaara's a _hikikomori_."

Kankuro leaned back just enough at that point to topple over backwards, allowing a firm smirk to spread across Temari's face. His comment labeling their younger brother as a shut in still stung. "Gaara's not a _hikikomori._ He does go out for walks."

"Yeah... the fact Gaara does go out for a couple hours a day doesn't change the fact he's a _hikikomori_ Temari. No way..." A click indicating the youngest sibling's door was opening stopped Kankuro from pulling himself up, and instead his mouth twisted up into a frown.

Temari however turned around with a smile on her face. "I see you found the new school uniform I left out for you. I take it you're coming to the opening ceremony with us."

The look in Gaara's eyes said he really couldn't care, and he simply moved to the table to sit down and stare in Kankuro's direction. A sigh escaped Temari's lips. Today was going to be a long day.

 **M**

" _What a drag._ " The fourteen year old shoved his hands into his pockets as his mouth twisted up into a scowl. " _I've got to get up to early in the morning. I've then got to dress in this stupid uniform. Then I've got to wait for the stupid train in this energy draining crowd. Add to this the fact high school is simply more work, and more energy then middle school. I shouldn't have taken principle Tsunade's advice on skipping a grade._ "

Another quick thought darted through his mind after a moment of silent bliss. " _That though would have required putting up an argument, and that would mean expending more energy then I needed to again. What a drag._ "

Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck as his eyes darted around taking in everything. He could hear the sound of an approaching train, and the train which just left was the one that arrived before his. The teen let out a sigh knowing he would now have to get on the train. The underground train pulled to a stop with a piercing screech, and the teen stepped onto the train without removing his hands from his pockets, or changing his posture.

One hand did go up to grab onto one of the straps used to prevent the commuters from falling over when the train stopped and started when he found his spot, and he could see from the corner of his eye a couple of his future school mates. "Did you hear that _yankee_ chick has another sibling attending the school this year? That means there's going to be three of them."

The fourteen year old's mouth twisted down. " _Great. Another thing to make this a major drag. The school's got juvenile delinquents._ "

 **M**

"You do realize the only reason Gaara skipped a grade is because dad didn't want to deal with him."

Kankuro's voice aggravated Temari as much as the idea of Gaara stepping on a crowded subway train did. Her lips pushed together as a tight unsettling feeling settled into her chest. " _Let's see. He doesn't like being touched, he doesn't like loud sounds, and he hates being stared at. This is honestly a disaster waiting to happen._ "

Temari's hand reached up to tug on Kankuro's sleeve. "Do you think you can get in front of Gaara to make sure nobody bumps into him."

She watched as Kankuro's brown eyebrow jerked up. "You've _got_ to be kidding me. Get in front of _Gaara_? What do you think I am, suicidal? He'll push me in front of the train and be quite happy having done so."

A deep breath escaped between Temari's lips as she tried erasing the awful image from her mind. "He wouldn't."

"You're to nice Temari. Just wait and see, he'll do something stupid before we get to the school. Bad enough people already think we're in some sort of street gang."

" _Gaara won't. He absolutely won't go off on us._ " Temari felt her upper set of teeth rub against her bottom lip, and she sucked in on her cheek slightly. " _Gaara will do something. He always does._ "

Getting onto the train thus didn't ease any of her anxiety, particularly when she knew _being_ on the train was an even bigger aggravate for her youngest sibling. She watched as Gaara turned his head to look at another student from their school, and something of course came out of his mouth. The tone of voice carried Gaara's usual dislike of pretty much everything. "What are you looking at?"

 **M**

"What are you looking at?"

Shikamaru blinked a couple of times upon hearing the comment directed at him. " _What a drag. Trouble already._ " Instinct from having dealt with trouble since elementary school made him access the situation as well as the person in front of him. He stared for a few seconds more taking in the red hair, and the oddly colored eyes with bags underneath. There was also the scowl on their face, and the uniform the person wore. " _Obviously he thinks I was staring at him._ "

His eyes moved slightly and noted the female from his school, and her blond hair pulled up into not two, but four pigtails. His eyes also took in the other male near the two who also scowled at him and under first impression would be the greater threat due to his body build. The young man didn't have the look of intelligence that the other two had, and Shikamaru finally let his eyes settle back on the red haired youth. " _No, he's the greater threat. Unlike the other two he's hard to read._ "

"That's the third sibling?" The mutterings from behind honestly didn't help the tense situation to tone down. "That guys screwed."

Shikamaru simply reached up with his free hand. "What a drag. No, I wasn't looking at anything. I was simply zoning out."

The red haired youth's scowl remained, but his eyes blinked a couple of times in confusion. The older of the two males looked like he wanted to pummel Shikamaru, but the blond female simply looked at him with a completely bewildered look on her face. "Say what?"

The wheels of the train came to a stop, and the doors gushed open at the stop they needed to get off at for the high school. Shikamaru let go of the strap he used to hold himself up, and simply stepped backwards into the crowd so others were between him and the three siblings.


	2. Social Drags

**High School, What a Drag  
 _Social Drags_**

"What a coward."

Temari knew Kankuro's posture well enough to know the eldest of her two brothers had shoved his hands into his pockets without having to look. She also felt her lips twist down into a frown as she thought about the high school student they met on the train. "No, I'd say he's simply being tactical."

Kankuro let out a sigh. "If that guy actually had experience with Gaara in the past I would agree with you."

The eldest sibling simply kept walking with her hands in her pocket as she looked at the back of their youngest sibling. " _I can't believe things went off without an incident. Now we need to get through the opening ceremony for the Freshman students._ " Temari felt her throat tighten. " _No, first we need to get Gaara to the place the opening ceremony is being held, and we need to see what class he's going to be in as well._ " Out of the corner of her eye she saw Kankuro turn away, and her head jerked towards the older of her two brothers. "Where are you going?"

The brown haired teen glared at her. "You never came to any of my opening ceremonies, and I've never come to yours."

"This is Gaara we're talking about." Temari took a deep breath.

"And I should care because?"

"Gaara's supposed to be class representative for the Freshman." The eldest of the siblings watched as Kankuro froze. "We talked about this the last couple of weeks, remember? We've got a bad enough reputation _without_ our youngest sibling pulling some crazy stunt." She watched as the other teen's facial features quickly paled, and her teal eyes blinked a couple of times in confusion. "What?"

"Gaara's disappeared. I don't know where he got off to."

Temari let her lungs fill with air as her frustration grew. " _So much for things going well._ "

 **M**

" _What a drag. I would have preferred an uneventful train ride as well as a slow walk._ " The fourteen year old continued to walk to the campus with his hands shoved into his pockets. Upon rounding the corner of one of the buildings Shikamaru stopped walking, and one hand went to rub the back of his neck. "What a drag. Seriously, what are you guys doing here?"

Flecks of potato chip dropped to the ground as Choji munched on his favorite treat. Flecks were also on his rather large cheeks. Naruto stood with his hands behind his head as he glared at Shikamaru. The grin on Kiba's face betrayed the fact he was up to something. "We came for your opening ceremony."

"You just came so you could skip class." Shikamaru folded his arms across his chest as one of his feet twisted slightly out.

"I came wanting to know what the cafeteria food is like. The school does have a cafeteria right? What ever high school I go to needs to have good food."

Kiba turned to look at the chubby teen. "I thought you'd stuff anything into that gullet of yours."

"Au contraire..." Choji shoved more food into his mouth. "Just because I'll eat anything doesn't mean I don't have a discerning taste for food."

"My high school needs to have cool uniforms." Naruto moved his arms so they now crossed his chest, and he continued to glare at Shikamaru. The high school student in turn glared back. "If it doesn't then I'll just wear my jumpsuit."

"I'm sure that will go over well." Shikamaru could feel his throat rumble slightly as his tone of voice switched to sarcasm.

Kiba glanced up at the sky. "I'm just not going to go to high school."

A silence fell over the small group, and finally Shikamaru spoke up. "Something bothering you Naruto?"

"Yeah. I should have just skipped class. Why am I even here? None of you guys even like me."

Shikamaru glared at the blond haired teen. " _What a drag._ "

 **M**

"Why am I doing this?"

Temari couldn't help but ignore the indignant tone Gaara used. " _We found him before he caused any kind of trouble._ " She felt her entire body tense as she tried figuring out a way to explain things to her youngest brother without having some kind of trouble happen. "It's a social custom. The person with the highest grade for the freshman year gets picked as class representative, and they give a speech."

"Why though am I doing this?"

The eldest of the siblings felt her chest tighten, and her eyes widen at the response. "Because..."

"Temari told you it's a social custom moron."

"Why?"

Temari took a deep breath. "I don't know." Gaara's glare caused her to tense up even more. "I guess you could say it's because you're expected to be a leader because of your intelligence."

"That's stupid."

Kankuro reached out to grab the front of his younger siblings uniform. "Look you little twerp. You've got to do it because..."

"Do you want me to kill you?"

Temari took a deep breath. "Gaara, could you do it for me?"

Gaara stared for a few minutes. "Fine."

The eldest breathed a sigh of relief.


	3. Drags of Speeches

**High School, What a Drag  
 _Drags of Speeches_**

"What do you mean you're not giving the opening speech?" Naruto while the other teen shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Getting the position of class representative is a major drag, so I simply got enough right on the entrance exam to allow me to enter the school, and be in the first class section." Shikamaru leaned back so he could stare at the lights up on the ceiling."

"What's a major drag?" Choji pulled a new bag of potato chips from his bag. He'd taken up a seat in the auditorium of the school next to Shikamaru, and Kiba sat on the other side. "You not getting the class representative position, and instead some nobody nerd getting said position."

Naruto nodded his head from where he sat next to the chubby teen. Shikamaru turned his head upon hearing Kiba set his bag onto his lap, and watched as the young man opened the already partially open bag to reveal a small dog. The teen sat the pup down onto the chair next to him, and then turned to look at Shikamaru. "Choji's right. You should have been class rep. Who is it if it isn't you?"

"Don't know. Maybe the other kid who skipped a grade." Shikamaru went back to staring at the ceiling wishing he could sneak away to take a nap on the schools roof.

"Another?" Naruto blinked a couple of times.

"Principle Tsunade mentioned something about me not being the only student this year who skipped a grade."

"Bet it's some kind of nerdy nerd." Kiba folded his arms as one of the Freshman high school students came up to him. "What?"

"I think you're in my seat. Actually..." The teen pointed at the dog sitting on the chair scratching it's ear. "There's a dog sitting in my seat."

"Is your name on this seat?"

"Well... no."

"Then it's not your seat, so get lost."

Shikamaru let out a sigh as the teen took off. "You guys do realize the seats are meant for the incoming Freshman class and each of us have an assigned seat."

The teen watched as another student walked up only to walk away upon seeing Choji making a mess of the sitting area, and licking his fingers. The chubby teen continued to munch on his snack. "Doesn't seem to be a problem."

" _What a drag._ "

"You know what. I'm going to be class representative when I get into high school. It's going to be this high school as well."

Shikamaru's eyes blinked a couple of times, and he then turned to look at the blond haired teen while his two other companions started to laugh. Imagining Naruto as the class representative Freshman year simply drew a blank.

Gaara was fine with making the speech.

" _Stop lying to yourself Temari. Gaara is far from being fine with any of this. You're just hoping that your luck about nothing happening continues for the rest of the day._ " The female took a deep breath as she stood backstage with her three siblings. Every so often another student would pass by, and look at the three before hurrying off.

"Don't worry." Kankuro earned up against the wall backstage. "He's somehow managed to get this far, so what could possibly go wrong."

"You know the longer Gaara goes without _something_ happening the more likely _something_ was going to happen, and the worse that _something_ is." Temari's teal eyes darted over to where her youngest brother waited to be introduced to the freshman class, and the corners of her mouth pressed down and in.

"How can Gaara mess this up Temari? All he's doing is making a speech."

"How often to you hear Gaara say something positive?" Temari took a deep breath.

"I'm sure he gets the importance of this speech." Kankuro turned his head so he was looking right at their younger brother. His mouth opened up to ask his brother whether he understood the importance, but instead Temari watched him freeze.

" _Yeah. You're doubting your own words. Rather ironic considering the confidence I had in Gaara this morning._ " The red haired teen remained perfectly still as he waited to be introduced. He then stepped onto the stage and stared out at the freshman class. The silence made Temari tense up even more, and a crick settled in between her shoulder blades. She watched as Gaara finally opened his mouth, and the words for his introductory speech came out.

"I don't care."

Temari's bright teal eyes blinked a couple of times as Gaara walked off the stage without giving her a second look, and out of the corner of her eye she could see Kankuro collapsing in a fit of laughter. The utter shock bit back her urge to lecture the older of her two brothers about the situation not being amusing, and the silence which followed caused her to tense up even more. She worried her lip as she debated whether to go after Gaara to berate her youngest sibling, or to go out and apologize for his lack of social finesse.

The sound of someone clapping caught her off guard enough to blink herself out of her stupor. The sound of clapping obviously came from only one person. Temari's throat tightened as she saw the young man from early surrounded by three people who didn't look like they went to their school. "I can't believe it."

"What do you mean?" Kankuro's laughter stopped, and he stood up.

"It's _that_ kid from the train."

" _Him_? He's the one clapping..." The eldest of the two brother's stopped speaking when a few others started clapping for what Gaara said. He winced when the sound of clapping was joined by another sound. "Is that a _dog_ howling?"

"I think so..."

"What the hell is going on?" Kakuro peeked over her shoulder to see the small group. "What... that's really messed up!"

Suddenly a few others in the auditorium started clapping, and then the entire freshman class joined in. Temari noted the look of shock on the face of the person who introduced Gaara to the freshman class. "Yeah... this is really messed up."

Shikamaru expected the speech to be a drag as Kiba was right. The person most likely to earn the spot would be a high achiever who might not know how to speak to the class. His eyes shot up when he saw the red head kid step onto the stage. " _Him? This might actually be interesting._ "

Choji stopped chewing his food. "Shikamaru?"

"Ran into him on the train this morning." Shikamaru felt the corners of his mouth twist into a smile. "Man... didn't expect him to be the class representative. And considering what I heard..."

A silence fell over the room, and someone let out a cough indicating they were becoming impatient waiting for Gaara to say something. Naruto leaned forward with his eyes narrowed, and Kiba's eyebrows shot up indicating he wasn't sure whether to be annoyed or amused. The words then came out from Gaara's mouth. "I don't care."

The red head on stage proceeded to walk off as the words sunk in. The smile on Shikamaru's face twisted up into a full grin, and he began to clap. Naruto turned his head. "What?"

"I can live with that sentiment. If it's a drag I don't care."

Kiba let out a laugh, and began to clap along with Shikamaru. This caused his dog to begin to howl as Choji and Naruto joined in. The other students looked on in bewilderment, and then a few others started clapping as well. Shikamaru honestly wasn't sure if they started clapping because the sentiment was contagious, or a few well placed glares from Naruto and Kiba did the trick. The clapping simply happened.


	4. Dragged Down

**High School, What a Drag  
 _Dragged Down_**

"You can't do things like that." Temari could feel the stares people sent her way. She could also hear the whispers involving the rumor of her being a yankee. Gaara simply stared at her indicating he honestly didn't care what she thought about the situation, nor did he care about what people thought about him personally.

"Don't bother explaining things to him Temari." Kankuro turned his head at the exiting students. "Speaking of which here comes those idiots."

"Idiots..." Temari drew her breath as she looked at the four existing the building. One was attempting to stuff a dog into his book bag. "I only think _that_ kid actually goes to our school."

"Then why the hell are they even here?"

The blond with the group suddenly pointed at Gaara, and Temari found her throat tightening. "They're coming this way."

"Wh..." Kankuro's words were cut off as the blond came over and the others followed rather reluctantly. A hissing sound was added to her oldest brother's tone of voice. "Say what? They've got to be crazy."

"Hey you!"

Temari's teal eyes widened as the blond pointed at Gaara, and her youngest brother finally turned to look at the blond. " _Good god! Nobody pulls this kind of stuff with Gaara ever. He's got to be an idiot._ "

A quick glance told her Kankuro was trying to not lose it. The blond became more vocal as he pointed at Gaara. "I'm trying to talk to you." Gaara continued to stare at the blond, and the situation kept escalating on the blond's part. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and I'm going to be class representative next year. You better believe it!"

A silence fell between the two groups. Temari noticed the kid with the dog shoved into his backpack looked like he wanted to pick a fight. The chubby kid didn't seem more focused on stuffing food into his mouth, and the kid they met earlier looked like he was bored with the whole situation.

Gaara finally opened his mouth to say something. "I honestly don't care. You're not worth my time."

"We should go and meet that kid."

Shikamaru simply stared at Naruto. " _What a drag. Leave it to Uzumaki Naruto to be attracted to trouble when he sees it._ " A quick glance at Kiba said the other boy was wanting to egg the blond teen on. " _And somebody else isn't helping. Not that I want to help either. To much energy._ "

Kiba's smirk quickly grew as he tried stuffing his dog back into his bag. "I think we should. That kids rather funny looking."

Choji frowned. "Don't go there. People who are sensitive about their looks don't like that being brought up."

"Who says he's sensitive about his looks? The kid's got guts."

Shikamaru let out a sigh as Naruto took off, and the only choice was to follow after. The blond gave his usual tirade despite being ignored, and then the red haired teen spoke in an emotionless manner. "I honestly don't care. You're not worth my time."

"You..." Naruto's temper flared, and the boy lunged at the red head.

" _What a drag. Should have stepped in._ " Shikamaru took a deep breath as he prepared to pull Naruto back away from the red haired class representative. A quick assessment told him all three siblings were ready to but heads making it clear the situation wouldn't resolve with a quick fix like this morning. A rather loud voice broke out over the crowd as both Gaara and Naruto moved closer to come to blows with each other.

"Stop!" A young man from their school rushed forward with a haircut as loud as his voice. Somehow the young man managed to redirect the two so they passed each other buy. "We should not be fighting people, but instead enjoying the spring time of youth. That my friends is what the high school life is about."

Shikamaru cringed upon recognizing the loud mouth from their neighborhood. " _I forgot there was someone louder then Naruto. What a drag._ " Gaara simply glared at the older 'youth', and then walked away. His two older siblings followed after, and Shikamaru let out a sigh of relief. " _That was close._ "

" _There were to many close calls today._ " Temari found herself not at all pleased with the new student, and his friends. " _How come there are kids not going to our school showing up even?_ "

Kankoro's attitude was more relaxed then her own. "Give up Temari. You can't babysit Gaara all day. You'll just have to get used to the idea that he's going to mess up everything in our lives."

"You're just pleased that you don't have to share a class with him. Perhaps I should suggest to dad the idea of having Gaara skip _another_ grade."

"Hey... don't do that. He wouldn't be in my class though. I'd say see you after school, but you've got that traditional dance class. I honestly don't know why you're in that club when you're the only one. At least with the puppet club there's more club members."

"Like three."

"They don't think I'm creepy at least. Everyone at school thinks you're a yankee."

"News for you Kankoro. They don't think you're creepy because they _are_ creepy. You wouldn't catch me dead in that club room." A thought crossed her mind. "What about getting Gaara into a club?"

"Don't even try. He's going to be a part of the go home club."

Temari let the frustration out of her lungs as the older of her two brothers disappeared. She couldn't help but check in on her younger brother's class, and found herself flinching when she saw the new student they met on the train staring out the classroom window.


	5. Not Such a Drag

**High School, What a Drag  
 _Not Such a Drag_**

Those in the classroom stared as Shikamaru entered with his hands in his pocket. He took a seat by the window and stared out. " _I really don't care so long as Naruto's not around making trouble. I guess that's not so bad._ " Two hands slammed down on his desk causing him to turn his head to see the blond female. " _Females are seriously a drag. I still don't get why dad married mom._ "

"Have you seen my brother?"

Shikamaru's mouth pushed together into a thin line. " _Of course he would have to be in my class._ " The teen turned to look back out the window. "Nope."

"Seriously... where could..."

The teen turned to look at the girl. " _Seriously, what is up with this. They say she's supposed to be some kind of yankee, but she isn't one._ " Shikamaru leaned back, and placed his hands behind his head. "Did you check the roof? That's where I would go if I wanted to skip class."

"If you..." The girl's mouth twisted up. "We've got a bad enough reputation without him skipping class."

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed, and he then stood up without looking her in the eye again. " _Seriously... this is a drag. Honestly don't know why I'm doing this. It's like dad catering to mom._ " A shudder ran down his spine. " _In no way am I attracted to her. She may not be a yankee, but there is a reason why people think she is one._ " He headed up to the roof, and found the read head up there. "Yo!"

"Go away."

"I liked your speech." The fourteen year old stepped closer, and watched as Gaara turned to look at him. "What? You don't believe me?"

"Nobody likes me."

Shikamaru felt the corners of his mouth twist deep into his cheeks. " _Nobody likes him? Don't tell me we have another Naruto._ " The fourteen year old spoke despite the fact his throat was tightening. "What about your sister and your brother."

"They blame me for our mothers death. Father does to, and so did our uncle."

" _What a drag. That girl seemed to be worried about him, but maybe I was wrong. He would know better then I do, but then I don't know for sure._ " Shikamaru shrugged his shoulders. "I can't honestly say I like or dislike you. Don't know you well enough for that. I did get your speech though. It's rather a major drag dealing with things. Doesn't change the fact we have to. _"_ The teen turned to leave. " _I don't see how I was of any help. Don't even know why I wanted to be of any help. I am looking forward to a nice nap on the roof watching clouds, and nothing is going to stop that._ "

Whether Gaara showed up for class or not Temari didn't know. She simply didn't see her younger brother, and after class went straight to the traditional dance club. She stepped into the room. " _The only reason I do this is because it's expected of me. Father's probably the only reason this club is still going._ "

The lesson was as strict as usual, and she wasn't pleased with the fact the air conditioning was turned off. Despite the windows being left open the room didn't get a nice breeze. She stepped out and waved one of the practice fans in front of her face.

"Yo!"

Temari's head turned to see the young man from earlier that morning sitting on the roof of the building with his legs swung over the edge. "I know this part of the school is only one story, but you really shouldn't be up on the roof like that. That's just plain stupid."

"I really don't care." The young man used the same words her younger brother used that morning. "I mean, it's rather a drag worrying about falling down when the place is a good place to take a nap and watch the clouds."

"What is it you want?"

"Do you really hate your younger brother?"

Temari felt her eyes widen, and her mouth twist up into a frown. "What are you talking about?"

"He said something about that while up on the roof, how you and the rest of your family hate him because he killed your mother."

"Gaara said something like that?" The female high school student let out a deep breath. " _He's rather annoying. Nothing cute about him._ "

"Yes." The young man dropped from the roof. "Is it true or not."

"It's not true, at least I don't think it is." Temari watched as the teen simply stared at her. "Look, not that this is any of your business, but we've dealt with Gaara's, problems, all his life. It's not that we hate him, it's just he can be so frustrating at times. And he didn't kill our mother."

"He sure seems to think so."

"Really none of your business."

"Except I get where he's coming from." The young teen shoved his hands into his pockets. "Not caring that is. It's just easier not to. Things end up being a drag, and you just spend to much energy without really accomplishing anything." The young teen frowned. "Don't get why people call you a yankee."

Temari took a deep breath. "None of your business."

"No. Making it my business would rather be a drag." The teen walked right past her in a rather relaxed manner, but stopped long enough to say something else. "My name is Nara Shikamaru by the way."

He then left before Temari could introduce herself. She shook her head. " _He's certainly an enigma like Gaara is. Don't have time to get interested in that kind of thing though, dating that is._ "


End file.
